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DVLA & Home Office Approved · Licence Specialists

Driving Licence Translation for UKVI

A licence from home is just a card with words on it until somebody here can read it. The DVLA, an insurer, a hire desk or a test centre all have to see what you are allowed to drive, in English. A certified driving licence translation puts every field, code and date into words they act on.

Some people are swapping a foreign licence for a British one. Others are hiring a car in Italy, Iceland, the States or Australia and have been told to bring an English copy. We also do the entitlement papers that go with a licence, like the French attestation and the German and Swiss office extracts.

  • Front and back, one price — both sides of the card are part of the same small job
  • Codes explained, not copied — the little numbers on the back are written out so a reader knows what they mean
  • Entitlement papers too — the extra sheet your licence office issues is handled alongside the card
  • Your name as your passport has it — no new spelling appearing for the first time on this one paper
  • Back the same day — a licence is short, so most go out within hours of the photos landing
  • Paper copy for the DVLA — posted signed sets for anything that has to go in an envelope
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640+
driving licences translated
200+
languages covered
99.4%
home office acceptance
4 hr
fastest turnaround
why people order this

Where A UKVI Driving Licence Translation Gets Used

Nobody translates a licence for fun. Someone at a counter has asked for it, and usually there is a date attached. Licences are the quickest thing on our desk, and they sit alongside everything else in our certified translation services in the UK. Here is who asks.

Swapping For A UK Licence

The DVLA form that lets you hand in a foreign card and get a British one back.

Hiring A Car Abroad

Desks in Italy, Iceland, the States and Australia that will not hand over keys without English.

Getting Insured Here

Insurers pricing a policy who want to see how long you have really been driving.

Driving Jobs

Delivery, courier and taxi work, where a licence is checked before you are put on the rota.

Booking A Test

Test centres using your licence as proof of who you are on the day.

Everyday Proof Of Identity

Banks, landlords and right to rent checks, where a licence is the only card you carry.

Entitlement Certificates

The separate sheet from your licence office listing what you passed and when.

Visa And Settlement Files

Supporting identity papers going in with a UKVI application.

Moving On Somewhere Else

People leaving Britain who need an English copy for the country they are heading to.

Translate my driving licence
how the translation works

How We Turn Your Licence Into English For The DVLA

A licence is one small card, so this is the shortest job we do. Two photos, one price, and it is usually back the same day.

1

Take a photo of each side

Lay the card flat and keep the flash off, because the shine hides the codes. If you also have the paper sheet your licence office gave you, send that in the same message.

→ uploading licence_front.jpg
→ uploading licence_back.jpg
✓ 2 files received · 0.7 MB
2

Say who is asking for it

A price comes back inside half an hour. Tell us if it is the DVLA, a hire firm or an insurer, and whether you need paper, because the DVLA prefers something they can keep.

QUOTE: from £29 · 1 card
DELIVERY: today 17:00
STATUS: awaiting confirmation
3

Print it or post it

The stamped copy lands by email, ready to show at a desk from your phone. If it is going in an envelope to Swansea, a signed paper set follows in the post for nothing.

✓ translation complete
✓ stamped + signed
✓ ready for submission
what the home office asks for

What A Licence Translation Must Carry To Be Accepted

A hire desk gives your paper about ten seconds, and the DVLA reads it far more slowly. Both want the same handful of things on the page. If anything else has been asked of you in writing, our common questions about our service may already cover it.

  • A line saying it is true and full
  • The date it was done
  • The translator's name
  • A signature on the page
  • A number and an email
  • What the translator is qualified in
  • Company paper with an address
  • Somebody independent, not a friend
Start my translation See our prices
Driving licence translation accepted by DVLA and UK insurers

Same Day Driving Licence Translation Before You Travel

Flights, hire bookings and test slots are all paid for well before anyone mentions a translation. A licence is short enough that we can usually turn one round in a few hours. Send both photos now and say what time you need it by.

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how your quote is worked out

How Much A Certified Driving Licence Translation Costs

This is one of the cheapest jobs we take, because a card holds very little writing. What changes the figure is what comes with it and how fast you need it. The numbers below are where each part starts.

What affects your price Starts from Why it moves up or down
The card itselfthe main one £29/ licence Both sides count as one job, since a licence carries less writing than almost anything else we handle
Extra sheetswith the card lower rateadded on Entitlement papers and licence office extracts hold far more text, so they are priced on top but at a reduced rate
How clear your photo isquality no extraif readable A flat, sharp photo costs nothing more; a blurred one with flash across the codes has to be redone before we can start
Language and scriptwho is free variesby pair French, Spanish and Italian run at our base rate; Arabic, Chinese, Greek and Georgian need someone who reads that card layout
How soon you need itspeed from £0normal slot A standard slot adds nothing; a few hours before a flight means pushing your card to the front of the queue
Paper or screendelivery from £0digital copy The stamped file is included; a signed paper set for a DVLA envelope is posted at cost, first class

Get a fixed price for your licence

Send both photos and a firm figure comes back within the hour, with any extra sheet already priced in. Nothing is added once the work has started.

EXAMPLE QUOTE1 LICENCE
Photocard, front and backfrom £29
Statement of accuracyFREE
Digital stamped copyFREE
your totalquoted on sight
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200+ languages covered

Licence Languages We Cover For DVLA And UKVI Use

Every country prints a licence its own way. The numbers on the back mean different things in different places, and some cards carry three languages at once with only the name filled in locally. Read a code wrong and you take away a right the driver actually has. So each card goes to someone who knows that country's layout, from Arabic to English translation through to the pairs below.

+ 188 more languages — Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Latvian, Georgian, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Somali, Dutch…
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how real files were handled

Licence Translation Jobs Sent To The DVLA And Abroad

Three real cards from this year, names shortened. Each one had a small catch in it that would have cost the driver time.

Case 01 — France

The card was not the paper they wanted

Who they wereStephanie R., swapping to a UK licence
What they neededA French entitlement certificate, into English, to go with a DVLA swap form
The problemShe had photographed the plastic card, but the form asks for the sheet listing what she passed
What we didTold her which paper to download from her licence office, then did that instead
How long it tookSame day once the right sheet arrived
What happenedHer form went off with the paper the DVLA had asked for

Case 02 — China

Keys on Friday, licence in Chinese

Who they wereWei L., picking up a hire car abroad
What they neededA Chinese licence, both sides, into English for a hire desk overseas
The problemThe desk wanted an English copy in hand, and he was flying in two days
What we didWrote out every class and code on the back so the agent could see what he could drive
How long it tookA few hours
What happenedHe showed it on his phone and drove off

Case 03 — Cyprus

His name looked like two people

Who they wereAndreas M., moving overseas for work
What they neededA Cypriot licence, into English, for the country he was moving to
The problemThe card carried three languages, and his name was in Greek letters while his passport used ours
What we didUsed the passport spelling and added a line saying both forms are the same person
How long it tookNext working day
What happenedNobody at the counter had to ask about the difference
what our clients say

Drivers On Getting Their Licence Read In English

Most of these people had a date to hit, whether that was a flight, a test or a first shift. Here is how it went. There are more reviews from our customers across the site.

4.9/5
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
1,847 verified reviews
99.4%
home office accepted
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I was handing my card in for a British one and the form wanted things set out a certain way. They got it right first time, so I did not have to send it twice.

Deniz K. Licence swap · Leeds
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The hire company in Iceland said no English copy, no car. Ordered on the Tuesday, had it that night, and picked the car up with no fuss at all.

Marek W. Car hire abroad · Manchester
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My insurer wanted proof of how long I had been driving before they would quote me properly. One page sorted it and my premium dropped.

Fatou N. Car insurance · Reading
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I was starting a delivery job and they would not put me on the rota without it. Sent the photos in the morning and had the copy before the shift.

Ibrahim T. Driving job · Birmingham
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The test centre asked for my licence in English as ID. It arrived days before my booking, so there was nothing left to worry about on the morning.

Livia P. Driving test · Cardiff
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My letting agent needed ID and my licence was all I had on me. Done the same afternoon, and the flat was signed off that week.

Anh D. Renting a flat · Nottingham
before you book

Driving Licence Translation For DVLA Use, Questions Answered

Licences bring their own set of questions, and most of them come in the day before somebody flies. Here are honest answers.

Will the DVLA swap my licence once it is in English?

+
That depends on which country issued it, not on us. Some countries have a deal with Britain and some do not, and the DVLA sets those rules. What the translation does is let them read your card and get on with the decision, whichever way it goes.

The form mentions an entitlement certificate. Is that my card?

+
No, and this trips up a lot of people. It is a separate sheet from your own licence office listing what you passed and when, and in France, Germany and Switzerland you can usually download it in minutes. Send us the card and we will tell you if the sheet is needed too.

Do you charge extra for the back of the card?

+
No. Front and back are one job, and they always come as a pair. The back is often the more useful side anyway, because that is where the classes and the little restriction codes live.

What happens to the code numbers on the back?

+
They get written out, not just copied. A number on its own tells a British reader nothing, so each one is put into plain words, with the original kept beside it. That way an agent or an officer can see the rule without looking anything up.

My licence has expired. Can it still be done?

+
Yes. We copy the card as it stands, dates and all. Whether an out of date licence is any use to you is for the office asking to decide, and we will never dress up an old date to look current.

My surname changed when I married. Which one do you use?

+
Whatever is printed on the licence, because that is what the card says. If your passport now shows a different surname, tell us and we add a short line pointing out the change, so nobody thinks two different people are involved.

Can you do a permit and a licence in one order?

+
Yes, and hire firms often want both. An international permit is only ever valid next to the licence behind it, so sending the pair together saves you a second order later on.

The hire firm says it wants a notarised copy. Really?

+
A few of the stricter ones abroad do ask, though most take a signed and stamped copy without blinking. Forward us their email and we will read what they have actually written, because it often turns out they want less than you think.
get on the road faster

Two Photos Now, Your Licence In English Today

Send both sides of the card, take the price that comes back, and pick up a signed, stamped copy for the DVLA, your insurer or a hire desk waiting on you.

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Based in Birmingham, serving the whole UK.

Drop us a line, walk into the office, or message us on WhatsApp — we reply within minutes during business hours, and translations begin the moment your documents land in our inbox.

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+44 7482 545337
Email us
info@ukvitranslations.co.uk
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33 Willmore Road, Birmingham B20 3JH, United Kingdom, Birmingham B20 3JE

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33 Willmore Road, Birmingham B20 3JH, United Kingdom